Check if you should complain

mistakes, for example if they pay you less money than they said they would or lose your documents

a long delay before your claim or enquiry was dealt with

bad advice, including wrong information or not telling you what you’re really entitled to

difficulty contacting the office, for example if you have to wait a long time before talking to someone

not providing you with a translator

rudeness or not replying to your messages

The people dealing with your benefits will usually have a charter or ‘standard of service’ document. This will tell you what kind of service you can expect from them. If they’ve clearly broken their standards you should complain.

It might be discrimination if you’ve been treated differently because of your:

Think about what would solve your problem

Before you complain you should have an idea of what you want your benefit provider to do.

You could ask them to:

apologise to you

fix the problem

explain what went wrong

change the way they do things - this will help other people, and could help you if you have to use the same office again

Asking for compensation

You might also be able to get compensation from your benefit provider if you’ve lost out on money because of a very long delay or bad service. You can ask them for the money you had to spend trying to contact them or the money you would have got if they didn’t give you bad advice.

You might also be able to get an extra amount on top to make up for the trouble or distress they caused you. The extra amount is usually between £25 and £500.

Ask for the compensation you think would be fair in your complaint.

Make your complaint

You’ll need to follow different steps depending on who you’re complaining to.

If you’re complaining to the DWP

Follow the DWP complaints procedure - it tells you who to contact and what to put in your complaint.

If you make a complaint and they don’t reply, ask to escalate your complaint to the next step (called the ‘Complaint Resolution Manager’). This means your complaint will be looked at by someone from a different office.

If you’re complaining to HMRC

Follow the HMRC complaints procedure - it tells you who to contact and what to put in your complaint.

If you make a complaint and they don’t reply, ask to escalate your complaint to the next step (called the ‘Adjudicator’). This means your complaint will be looked at by someone from a different organisation.

the dates things happened - for example, when you applied for a benefit or they sent you a letter

any other evidence, for example forms you filled in when you visited the office or proof of postage from when you sent them something

why you think their service wasn’t good enough

how you were affected, for example if you couldn’t pay your rent or got into debt

what you think they should do to make things right, for example getting the money you’re owed or an apology

It’s still worth making a complaint even if you don’t have a lot of evidence.

If your local council doesn't deal with your complaint or you're unhappy with their response, you can complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO is an independent organisation that can investigate local councils.